Vehicle doors typically include one or more detent points within their swing arc to hold the door at a fixed point short of fully open to help prevent door contact with adjacent objects. The detent point is typically a compromise between providing sufficient room for driver ingress/egress and door protection. Typically, a single detent cannot account for all door swing/opening scenarios.
Various infinite/variable door check or stop systems have been developed for the motor vehicle market. These systems may be designed to hold the door in position at whatever point door movement stops in the swing arc. In this manner a door can be opened as near to an adjacent object as desired, and the door check will hold it in position until the user applies a “overcoming” force to move the door out of that detent position. However, such systems suffer from various drawbacks.
Automatic door check systems that attempt to arrest door movement prior to contacting an adjacent object have also been developed. Such systems typically utilize one or more sensors (e.g. ultrasonic) mounted in the door to detect distance to adjacent objects and automatically stop door movement before contact. However, such systems may be costly, and the positioning of the sensor(s) may negatively affect the appearance of the vehicle door.